Gilbert Public Schools' incoming superintendent experienced one of her first official encounters with school-board members who rejected two of her three selections for top administrative posts May 27.

Christina Kishimoto, who will lead the district beginning July 1, recommended Alexander Nardone as chief of staff. Nardone currently works with Kishimoto in the Hartford Public Schools in Connecticut.

The five-member board unanimously approved Nardone, but was divided in rejecting Kishimoto's choices for chief financial officer and chief talent officer. The candidates, both from the Valley, included Kevin Hegarty, who currently handles finances in the Higley Unified School District, and Jeffrey Thomas, an associate superintendent of human resources in the Scottsdale Unified School District.

Christina Kishimoto(Photo: Tom Tingle/The Republic)

Without public discussion, board members Daryl Covin and Julie Smith voted against Hegarty and Thomas, while board President Staci Burk abstained.

Kishimoto in a May 22 e-mail to the board said she had spent several days interviewing and vetting candidates. Board members met with the candidates in executive session before the May 26 board meeting.

Kishimoto said in an e-mail to The Republic she had been "thrilled" that Hegarty and Thomas were willing to be part of her team.

"Moving forward, I will work with my board to understand this vote and to ensure that the candidates that I put forward to them next are vetted using a different process," Kishimoto said. "Ultimately, the board and I need to be comfortable with all senior level appointments."

Board member Jill Humpherys told The Republic she was "somewhat surprised" and "very disappointed at the votes against hiring Hegarty and Thomas.

"I felt both men were very qualified ... I felt they had the background, education and experience needed to help our district and I was aware they were coming in at a lower salary to help us out," Humpherys said. "I feel this is not the direction we need to go. I think it's very concerning that some are taking hiring into their own hands."

Board member Lily Tram said the board had plenty of time to review resumes and information about the candidates and should have let Kishimoto know if there were concerns.

"It's unprofessional, rude and embarrassing, what happened last night," said Tram, who contacted both men to apologize.

Burk told The Republic she voted on Nardone because she had communicated with Kishimoto about his background and experience, but abstained from voting on the other two candidates because a lengthy hospital stay kept her from participating in discussions with Kishimoto regarding them.

After the meeting, Smith told The Republic she voted against Hegarty because he was "very much in favor of overrides" and he worked on projects to charter two middle schools at Higley and to bring a compressed natural gas station to the district, all of which she opposes.

Smith said there were other reasons behind her vote that she couldn't reveal because they were discussed in the board's executive session.

Hegarty has worked more than 30 years in the financial sector and since December 2012 has been the chief financial financial officer at Higley, where he's leaving at the end of June.

Smith said she voted against hiring Thomas because he doesn't have a degree in human resources, which she said could cause legal problems for the district. Smith said she also had "a lot of concerns" about Thomas' former position from 1996 to 2005 working for the Arizona Education Association, a teachers union.

Thomas has more than 25 years of educational experience. He has led human resources in the Scottsdale district for the past four years and has been with the district since 2005. He volunteered to resign in December as part of the district's budget cuts.

Colvin would not comment on his votes against Thomas and Hegarty.

On May 28, Burk said she had talked to Kishimoto "to ensure that she will have a highly effective team in place by the start of the school year."